Pensacola Seafood Festival 2023 – An Ocean Full of Fun for the Whole Family

Live music, local art, and above all: fresh seafood!

That’s what the annual Pensacola Seafood Festival is all about. Located in downtown Pensacola’s historic Seville Square, this free community event showcases the best Pensacola has to offer! You won’t want to miss these fun festivities, so be sure to stop by if you’re in the area from September 29th -October 1st! (That’s a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – aka a perfectly delicious weekend!)

What to Expect

No matter where you look at the Pensacola Seafood Festival, you’ll find great seafood. With food carts lining the streets and local restaurants serving tapas (small plates)-sized portions of their signature dishes, this is your chance to get a fantastic sampling of Pensacola’s varied culinary scene. Whether you’re a diehard seafood fan or prefer to stick to landlocked food options, you’re sure to find a wide array of fresh, festive flavors to sample all day long!

Spectacular Seafood Selection

There’s nothing better than seafood fresh from the source, which is exactly what the Pensacola Seafood Festival serves up en masse. There’s a staggering array of seafood dishes and sampler platters made fresh onsite by a curated selection of talented local vendors, all just as passionate about seafood as you are. Chat with friends and family as you tackle a low country boil or enjoy a sampling of all your seafood favorites.

Fans of the classics will find plenty of shrimp, crab, calamari, crawfish, scallops, grouper, lobster rolls, kabobs, crab cakes, etouffee, coconut shrimp, and jambalaya. But the sampling doesn’t stop there. Dig into a bowl of gumbo, indulge in crawfish mac and cheese, nibble on conch fritters, or order up seafood paella to enjoy family-style. Always wanted to know what alligator tastes like? Here’s your chance! 

Whether you want a little bit of everything or just prefer to double down on your latest craving, you’re sure to find something you’ve never tried before.

After you’ve decided where and what to eat (no small feat with so many great options), settle down in the sunshine and sample everything you ordered (and steal a few bites from your friends’ plates). The city sets up dining areas around Seville Square, but why not make a picnic out of it? The nearby Fountain Park is left open to be turned into a dining area. Visitors can bring their own chairs or picnic blankets so they can sit, eat, and enjoy.

Yummy Options for Seafood Skeptics

Of course, not everyone is a fan of seafood. Whether you’re bringing along your fish-averse friend or just like a healthy dose of variety in between shrimp courses, local vendors serve up a whole world of options. There’s plenty to satisfy even the hungriest, pickiest eaters.

Savory options generally include burgers, corn dogs, hot dogs, bloomin’ onions, chicken tenders, French fries, pork rinds, kettle corn, nachos, and even turkey legs. In the mood for dessert? Cool off with a scoop of ice cream or a snow cone, or really lean into the festival vibes with a funnel cake piled with powdered sugar! Then quench your thirst with a root beer float or fresh-squeezed lemonade. The hardest part will be choosing just a handful of options!

Taste the Best of Local Restaurants

If you’ve had your eye on a local spot you’ve always wanted to try, now’s the perfect time for a taste test! Pensacola’s best chefs from the hottest local restaurants gather at the seafood festival every year to showcase their freshest seafood creations straight from the Gulf to your plate.

Participating chefs and restaurants change every year, so stay tuned for the festival to announce their 2023 participants! Although we’re still waiting on the list (as of writing), we can still give you an idea of what to expect. Previous participants have included: Bonehead’s Fire Grilled, Cafe NOLA, The Fish House, Sons of Italy Buona Fortuna Lodge, Flounder’s Chowder House, The Southern Pearl Restaurant, Sam’s Seafood, Steaks & Spirits, Fisherman’s Corner, Grayton Seafood Co., SouthPaw Grill, Nancy’s Catering & Events, Cypress Pensacola, and Nick’s Boathouse. 

Whether you want something classic or refined, Southern or international, you can sample as many bites as you can hold! It’s a great chance to try out a whole handful of restaurants in just a single evening.

Fiesta Seafood Grille

Few things are better than dinner and a show. And when dinner is the show? Now, that’s the best! Head to the Fiesta Seafood Grille area to see some of Pensacola’s best chefs in action. Every year, the festival sets up an outdoor demo kitchen so attendees can watch in awe as the chefs cook up delectable creations. It adds another layer of enjoyment to the dining experience and is also a reminder of how much work goes into crafting the final product on your plate.

Fun for the Kiddos

There’s already so much for kiddos to see and do at festivals, but the Pensacola Seafood Festival has an entire area dedicated especially to them! The Children’s Area in Bartram Park will have face painting, arts and crafts, and games just for the little ones.

There will also be a few vendors selling kids’ items, from toys to books to costume regalia, for some epic make-believe. The little ones will enjoy browsing booths that are there just for them!

Catch a Legend-Forming Live Show

Every year, the festival hosts a handful of up-and-coming acts from the Pensacola area. Admission is free for all festival attendees, so be sure to stay and enjoy the live music. Grab a drink, kick back, and bop, or get in on the action and turn a day at the festival into an evening of dancing.

Past performers at the Pensacola Seafood Festival have become Grammy-award-winning artists. You’ll definitely want to check them out so you can say you saw them before they got big. Discover the next big act before they take the country by storm!

Browse the Beautiful Arts and Crafts Fair

Between seafood courses, head to the arts and crafts fair. Over 170 artists will be showing off their handiwork, so there’s always something for everyone to appreciate, browse, or take home – whether you’re a diehard art enthusiast or just enjoy a few hours of window-shopping. 

Small artists and businesses often get their start setting up tents and booths at local festivals like this, so you’re sure to find something you’ve never seen before (and that no one else has). Be sure to stop by the arts and crafts contest submissions as well – every submission is 100% handmade and offers a chance for local artists and artisans to show off their skills.

The selection includes wearable items (like handmade jewelry, clothing, and accessories), fine art (painting, prints, drawings, and photographs), and household objects (pottery, ceramics, soaps, candles, and outdoor décor). You may also find woodcrafts, metalwork, blown glass items, and a smattering of novelties designed just to make you smile.

Merch Inspired by Local Artists

Every year, festival organizers select a local artist to have their work shown on the festival merch, including a poster contest. The festival office also sells shirts, koozies, and other memorabilia. It’s more than just festival merch; it’s a wearable piece of local art!

---

Would you want to try a bite of everything at a seafood festival or just eat all the shrimp you possibly can? Is your favorite part of a festival the food, the live entertainment, or the local vendors? Chime in below!

Dear MouseEars TV readers, This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one of these links and make a purchase, we will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Featured photo: South_Agency from Getty Images Signature via Canva

Disclaimer: We earn a commission if you click any of the links above and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.